There is substantial prior art concerned with the production of alkali metal fluosilicates such as potassium fluosilicate or sodium fluosilicate. Potassium fluosilicate is most commonly produced during acidulation of phosphate rock with a mineral acid. Phosphate rock normally contains about 3-4% of fluorine and heretofore the fluorine was usually evolved as a gaseous fluoride during the acidulation reaction and the fluorides were then trapped or generated into the atmosphere.
Because of the present stringent air and water pollution regulations, various proposals have been made for preventing fluorine emission in such phosphoric acid plants. One of the proposals involves the addition of potassium ion to the acidulation reaction so that potassium fluosilicate is produced during acidulation and, being a solid, can be separated from the resulting reaction mixture. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,840,639 to E. K. Dreschsel. Recently issued literature in the patent art discloses methods whereby the phosphate rock is reacted with phosphoric acid or sulfuric acid in the presence of controlled amounts of potassium ion and controlled amounts of silicon dioxide so that evolution of the fluorides is suppressed and the potassium fluosilicate precipitates. Thus, in issued U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,086,322 and 4,160,657 processes are described wherein phosphate rock is acidulated with phosphoric acid in the presence of potassium ion and silicon dioxide wherein the fluorides are precipitated as potassium fluosilicate and can be removed from the system. Similar systems are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,060,685 where the potassium fluosilicate is separated with the gypsum.
The present invention provides a method whereby alkali metal fluosilicate from any source can be reacted to produce valuable potassium-containing compounds, as well as calcium fluoride, which is available commerically under the trade name FLUORSPAR.